A meal’s wholesomeness also depends on the table manners. Manners are the social rituals that make a meal worthwhile. Table manners are social etiquettes border on our traditions. They are also fine blend of different traditions because India has had many invasions. Also, there are certain religious beliefs, traditions and practices that are involved tailored with the political beliefs that so far has greatly influenced the Indian food traditions. This also sheds light on the significant mutual bonding between different traditions in India and food cultures are nothing but the extension of the same. Furthermore, in India, all the dishes are entailed with a dessert of a sweet dish which is considered blissful. Here are some of such food traditions in India that you won’t know:
Eating with hands:
Our five fingers represent five elements and this practice ignites them. This also helps make digestion easy by activating five digestive juices. Going by the teaching of the Vedas, this practice benefits our chakras and using hands helps stimulate our blood circulation too. The nerves ending at the tip of our fingers send signal to our stomach so that we get better taste, texture and aroma of the food.
Serving on banana leaves:
Banana leaves contain a lot of polyphenols which are the antioxidants that stop diabetes from afflicting you. It also keeps other cardiovascular diseases at bay. When the warm food is served on banana leaf, the integration helps secrete several nutrients that help make digestion easier. The practice was first commenced in Kerala and immediately became popular in the whole southern belt. The water that is sprinkled on the Banana leaf before serving the food is an act of purification. In fact, many hotels also serve food on banana leaf for the over-all well being of the guests.
Eating on the floor:
This practice is a massive hit among the rural areas of India where people prefer to sit on the floor on a wooden pedestal and eat. This is because the repeated bending of the spine for bringing the food to the mouth improves the blood circulation along with improving the metabolism.
Indian thali:
There are stipulated thalis available in significant parts of India such as Rajasthan, Kerala, West Bengal, Kashmir and Gujarat. The local thalis are fashioned in a manner that the food suit the environmental condition of the said place. The archaic home-made platters are no longer there but still whatever commercialized versions are available, are packed with protein, Vitamin, healthy fat and carbohydrate.
Serving milk in the wedding night:
This is a widely circulated ritual pan India which symbolizes power. Of course, it stimulates the reproductive tissues being a good aphrodisiac. It also helps boost your immunity and of course, easily digested and absorbed.
These are the fairly intriguing stories behind the different food traditions of India.
